The husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords ripped the National Rifle Association (NRA) on Friday for a press conference that defied common sense and defended extreme pro-gun positions.

Gabby and I are extremely disappointed by the NRA's defiant and delayed response to the massacre of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Mark Kelly said in a statement.

The NRA could have chosen to be a voice for the vast majority of its own members who want common-sense, reasonable safeguards on deadly firearms, but instead it chose to defend extreme pro-gun positions that aren't even popular among the law-abiding gun owners it represents.

Giffords nearly died in January 2011 after a lone gunman opened fire on an event the congresswoman was holding to meet with constituents. Six people were killed in the shooting, including a federal judge.

The assassination attempt by Jared Loughner is one of a string of mass shootings over the last few years. The latest occurred last week in Newtown, Conn., where 26 people  including 20 6- and 7-year-olds  were killed by another lone gunman.

Kelly spoke out after a press conference by NRA President Wayne LaPierre, which broke a weeklong silence by the group.

LaPierre called for a national program to put armed guards in every school around the country, arguing the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

LaPierre also criticized gun-free school zones, saying that they indicated to every insane killer in America that they could safely inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk.

The presser, which Kelly described as a defiant and delayed response, received immediate heat from Democrats on Twitter, and reaction from liberals like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) has been overwhelmingly negative.

Kelly was in Beijing on the day of the Sandy Hook shooting, but posted that the victims of mass shootings deserve leaders who have the courage to participate in a meaningful discussion about our gun laws  and how they can be reformed and better enforced to prevent gun violence and death in America.

The NRA could have chosen to be a voice for the vast majority of its own members who want common-sense, reasonable safeguards on deadly firearms, but instead it chose to defend extreme pro-gun positions that aren't even popular among the law-abiding gun owners it represents.

Bull Crap statement!

2
posted on 12/21/2012 6:51:22 PM PST
by Red_Devil 232
(VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)

Astronaut or not, this guy is an embarrassment every time he opens his mouth. I’m sorry for his wife’s injuries, but she was also an embarrassment. Her only memorable moment in congress when when she tried to make a grandstand play for a media soundbite by asking Gen. David Patreus (during his testimony before the house) what he was doing to reduce the carbon footprint of the army in Afghanistan.

What the left has proven is that if you are unarmed, you are defenseless, and if you are defenseless, you are very likely to be a victim. Time and time again we have proven that law enforcement is not there to prevent violent crime but to draw chalk outlines of the victims.

It is time to allow schools to hire armed security if they so choose or to allow principals and teachers who want to undergo training and certification in firearms to do do and carry if they so desire.

The extreme left wants people control, not gun control. Obummer has shown in his first term that he wanted a lot of dead people so he could take away guns. He had Holder run guns over the southern border to the drug gangs knowing they would be traced to the US giving holder the chance to go after the 2nd. This backfired and if the press weren’t all on their knees for the Won, it could have been bad for the administration.

When schools were made into victim disarmament zones it was known that kids would die. But you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs.

Now we are going to have a meaningful discussion in this country. I've caughrt some of the media's stories and they have all come from the white hut talking points.

I am afraid, very very afraid that the “0” wants a civil war so he can end the right wing once and for all. I know many gun owners, and they will not register nor give up any more of their rights or property.

Nuf said.

24
posted on 12/21/2012 7:13:44 PM PST
by Big Mack
(I didn't claw my way to the top of the food chain to eat VEGETABLES!)

I want common sense laws against murdering, totalitarian, leftist governments which have historically killed more of their own citizens than all wars in the last 100 years. These two tyrant supporters don’t think this way. There is only one way to spell stupid unless it is really evil.

28
posted on 12/21/2012 7:24:52 PM PST
by MtnClimber
(I did not vote for 0bama, someone else did that!)

The NRA had absolutely no obligation to respond to Sandyhook, in fact, they shouldn’t have because this is the kind of crap we get from liberals. Frankly, I am a little over these two and their martyrdom. As I recall, Giffords propped herself up as a pro 2nd amendment Democrat, or was that just to get elected?

Jared Loughner bought his gun legally. Plenty of people knew he was a nut job, including the local sheriff (Dupnik), but they did nothing about it. I think Loughner’s mother worked for the city and knew the sheriff, which may have helped to keep him off the radar.

The elephant in the room that nobody seems to want to look at is that many of these young male murderers were on anti-depressants whose manufacturers even admit that suicidal or violent thoughts are one of the side effects.

43
posted on 12/21/2012 8:54:06 PM PST
by Lizavetta
(You get what you tolerate)

Mark Kelly may have an opinion on the NRA press release, but I doubt his wife Gabby does. Since she was shot in the head, her thinking on matters is mainly on liking vanilla pudding over chocolate or whether she is feeling chilly.

44
posted on 12/21/2012 9:14:50 PM PST
by RicocheT
(Eat the rich only if you're certain it's your last meal)

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.